How accurate are the estimated earnings?

[digitalsoju]

Hey guys, I was wondering how accurate the estimated earnings are on youtube. Recently I put out my first viral video and it hit over a million views (1,424,762 views at the time of this posting).

When I go under google analytics, it says I've only made around $600 which seems quite low for the number of views. I also use vidiq's google chrome plugin and that estimates it to be around $2,137 based on $1.50 CPM. About 70% of my views are from the US as well. (see attachment please)

Anyone know which one is more accurate? Thanks

 

[Rod71]

Log into Google Analytics (not Youtube) for an accurate real time overview.

From my experience, actual earnings are 10 to 15% lower than whats estimated.

I'd be really dissopointed with $600 from 1.5m views. Plus if thats what Google Analytics is showing as estimated, the actual total will be closer to 500

 

[digitalsoju]

Log into Google Analytics (not Youtube) for an accurate real time overview.

From my experience, actual earnings are 10 to 15% lower than whats estimated.

I'd be really dissopointed with $600 from 1.5m views. Plus if thats what Google Analytics is showing as estimated, the actual total will be closer to 500

Thanks for you reply. I was under the impression that google analytics didn't display adsense info. And with 1.5m views, any ideas why is the money so low? Thanks

 

[Rod71]

Thanks for you reply. I was under the impression that google analytics didn't display adsense info. And with 1.5m views, any ideas why is the money so low? Thanks

There's always multiple factors that decide what your $ per 1000 views works out at. The main one at the moment is the January downturn. If it was December, it would most likely say $1200

 

[digitalsoju]

There's always multiple factors that decide what your $ per 1000 views works out at. The main one at the moment is the January downturn. If it was December, it would most likely say $1200

That sucks to hear. If only the vidiq estimate was the more accurate measure ($2,000+ right now) :/

 

[Shakycow]

As was already mentioned, log into AdSense to get a more realistic up to the minute idea.

Analytics in YouTube will always be a day (or a few days) behind, but you can see it (almost) live by going to your AdSense page (google.com/adsense).

Click on the 'Performance reports' tab at the top then, under 'filters,' select 'Hosted AdSense for Content.'

The total earnings will be a tad high (multiply by .85 to get a more accurate idea), but you'll be able to see them in nearly real time (about a half hour off) and long before they show up on YouTube.

 

[Uncivilized Elk]

$0.60 RPM isn't terrible, if you check out the January CPM drop thread in this subsection that's around what most people have been getting. Many are even pulling closer to $0.50.

That's just how internet ads roll apparently - seasonally.

 

[digitalsoju]

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[TuzoAnime]

If that video had gotten popular on December instead of January you could have made double.

 

[RyanH]

As mentioned, CPMs are low at this time of year. Estimated earnings in some cases can be almost accurate, but with others it seems there's about a 20% difference. AdSense will give you a better idea if you look at "performance reports" which lets you know how many clicks and whatnot. Note that this doesn't include YT Red earnings, you'll just see them added to your finalized earnings. Wait until around the 10th of the month to see your finalized earnings in AdSense to see the correct amount.